Russia is trying to produce as many military goods as possible within the country, and it is helped in this by the products of German mechanical engineers.
Despite the sanctions, German industrial goods continue to flow into Russia.
This is discussed in the investigation of journalists of the network SWR, ARD TV channel reports.
In 2023, more than 300 machines that can be used to produce vehicle parts or ammunition were delivered to Russia. Often, such deliveries take place via Turkey.
According to Russian customs data, to which SWR investigators refer, as of the end of December 2023, more than 300 shipments from German manufacturers were delivered to Russia. These are mainly large industrial machines or so-called CNC machines. These computer-controlled machines can, for example, cut steel, bend sheet metal or weld metal parts fully automatically.
According to experts, it was these machines that helped the Russians establish the production of parts and ammunition for cars and airplanes. And Germany is the leader in the production of such equipment, with a share of 30% on the Russian market.
With the help of video and photography, journalists were able to find out that the companies “Parsec”, “KamAZ”, NIR and “Industrial Solutions” in the Russian Federation supply the Russian military with engines and spare parts for airplanes and missiles. All of these enterprises use German equipment, which continued to arrive last year. It is possible that Russia is receiving such machines this year as well.
Investigators have already identified more than 30 German manufacturers. Their machines were imported to Russia last year. Many are located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, a traditional place for mechanical engineering. Among the manufacturers are, in particular, Walter Maschinenbau, Vollmer, Fein GmbH, Heller, etc.
In most cases, the cars were imported to Russia via Turkey.
The manufacturers contacted by journalists shift the blame to the intermediaries, saying that they violated the sanctions regime without the knowledge of the German companies.
Experts see an opportunity to stop illegal exports in strengthening sanctions and monitoring their compliance. After all, companies may not really know where their products are going, but if they want, they can easily find out about it and take appropriate measures.
Recall that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suddenly wanted to talk to the head of the Kremlin Putin. Ukrainian expert named the reasons for this decision.
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